William Watson (poet)
Sir John William Watson (2 August 1858 - 13 August 1935) was an English poet, popular in his time for the political content of his verse. Life Watson was born in Burley in Wharfedale, in West Yorkshire, the youngest of three sons of Dorothy (Robinson) and John Watson, a grocer, and grew up in Liverpool. "From an early age," says the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he "showed an unusual susceptibility to literary and musical influences." In 1880 he published his first poetry collection, The Prince's Quest, and other poems, the title poem of which was praised by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.G. Nelson, ‘[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/printable/36774 Watson, Sir (John) William (1858–1935)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Web, Dec. 8, 2013. Watson was very much on the traditionalist wing of English poetry. He was a prolific poet of the 1890s, and a contributor to The Yellow Book , without 'decadent' associations. Following the 1895 arrest of Oscar Wilde, Watson led the campaign to remove Aubrey Beardsley as art director of the Yellow Book. Watson was also a defender of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as he dropped out of fashion. He married Adeline Maureen (Pring) on August 11, 1909. The couple had two daughters. On the death of Alfred Austin in 1913, Watson was a strong candidate for Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, but his earlier opposition to the Boer War (1899-1902) had made him politically unacceptable to some, and he was passed over for Robert BridgesLouis Untermayer, "Alfred Austin", Modern British Poetry (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1930), 227. Print. Recognition Three of Watson's poems ("Song," "Ode in May," and "The Great Misgiving") were included in the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900.Alphabetical list of authors: Shelley, Percy Bysshe to Yeats, William Butler. Arthur Quiller-Couch, editor, Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900 (Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919). Bartleby.com, Web, May 19, 2012. Watson was knighted in 1917. Publications Poetry *''The Prince's Quest, and other poems. London: Elkin Mathews, 1880. *Wordsworth’s Grave, and other poems. London: T.F. Unwin, 1890. *Lachrymae Musarum, and other poems. London & New York: John Lane, 1892. *The Poems of William Watson. London: John Lane, 1892; London & New York: Macmillan, 1892. *The Eloping Angels: A caprice. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1893. *Odes, and other poems. London: John Lane, 1894; London: Macmillan, 1894. *The Father of the Forest, and other poems. London: John Lane, 1895; Chicago: Stone & Kimball, 1895. *The Purple East: A series Of sonnets on England's desertion of Armenia. London: John Lane, 1896; Chicago: Stone & Kimball, 1896. *The Year of Shame. London & New York: John Lane, 1897. *The Hope of the World, and other poems. London & New York: John Lane, 1898. *The Collected Poems of William Watson. London & New York: John Lane, 1898. *Ode on the Day of the Coronation of King Edward VII. London & New York: John Lane, 1902. *New Poems. London & Greenfield, MA: John Lane, 1902. *Selected Poems. Longon & New York: John Lane, 1903. *For England. Poems Written During Estrangement. London & New York: John Lane, 1904. *''The Poems of William Watson. (2 volumes), London & New York: John Lane, 1905.The Poems of Willian Watson (1905), Internet Archive. Web, Apr. 15, 2015. Volume I, Volume II. *''Sable and Purple, with other poems. London: E. Nash, 1910. *The Muse in Exile. London: Jenkins, 1913; New York: John Lane, 1913. *Retrogression, and other poems. London & New York: John Lane, 1917. *The Man Who Saw, and other poems arising out of the war. London: John Murray, 1917; New York: Harper, 1917. *The Superhuman Antagonists, and other poems. London, New York & Toronto: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919. *Ireland Unfreed: Poems and verses written in the early months of 1921. London & New York: John Lane, 1921. *A Hundred Poems. London, New York & Toronto: Hodder & Stoughton, 1922. *''Selected Poems. London: T. Butterworth, 1928. *''Poems, 1878-1935''. London, Bombay, & Sydney: George G. Harrup, 1936. Plays *''The Heralds of the Dawn: A play in eight scenes. London & New York: John Lane, 1912. Non-fiction *Epigrams of Art, Life and Nature.Liverpool, UK: G.G.Walmsley, 1884. *Excursions in Criticism: Being some prose recreations of a rhymer. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane / New York: Macmillan, 1893. **Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1970. *Pencraft: A plea for the older ways. London & New York: John Lane, 1916. *''Ireland Arisen (pamphlet). London: Grant Richards, 1921. Edited *''Lyric Love: An anthology. London & New York: Macmillan, 1892.Lyric Love: An anthology (1892), Internet Archive. Web, Dec. 8, 2013. ''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William Watson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web. Dec. 8, 2013. See also * List of British poets References *Jean Moorcroft Wilson (1981) I Was an English Poet: a critical biography of Sir William Watson 1858-1936 *Kunitz, Stanley J and Howard Haycraft, Twentieth Century Authors. H.W.Wilson, 1942. Notes External links ;Poems * "World-Strangeness" *William Watson in the Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900: "Song," "Ode in May," and "The Great Misgiving" *Watson in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895: "Lachrymæ Musarum," "The First Skylark of Spring," "Song in Imitation of the Elizabethans" **Epigrams: I. "To a Seabird", [http://www.bartleby.com/246/1050.html II. "The Play of King Lear"], III. "Byron the Voluptuary", [http://www.bartleby.com/246/1052.html IV. "On Dürer’s Melencolia"], V. "Exit" * William Watson at PoemHunter (103 poems) ;Books * ** The Poems of William Watson from Project Gutenberg ;About *Sir (John) William Watson in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography *James G. Nelson, Sir William Watson. (limited book preview) * Original article is at "William Watson (Poet)" Category:1858 births Category:1935 deaths Category:People from Burley in Wharfedale Category:English poets Category:Sonneteers Category:19th-century poets Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Victorian poets